Firecracker
by prizedham
Summary: Edward comes home from college for a summer break and discovers things have changed and his hurtful past has new competition when he meets his younger sister's best friend Bella. Could this be the start of something new or just a continuation of the old?


**Hey, everyone! I've got a new story here for you. I hope you all like it, I actually feel like I may be able to finish this story. LOL It's in Edward point of view, sorry for anyone of doesn't like it, but it's the way I want it to be. This chapter was written while I listened to the Eclipse soundtrack, especially Heavy In Your Arms by Florence + The Machine. Without further ado, I don't own Twilight, and if I did, the books would have been totally different. Enjoy!**

"Happy 4th, dude!"

I looked up at the random drunk minor who happened to be slurring and nearly falling down the steps on the front porch of my house. Who the fuck is this guy? This is my place, and yet there are tons of people here who I have never even met. Maybe it was because I had just gotten back in town for the summer from college, and most of these assholes were friends of my baby sister, Alice, who just graduated a month ago from Forks High School. She was always one for a party, and since our parents were out of town, she had decided to throw one together in the name of our country's independence.

I had rolled my eyes at Alice when she told me about the party, insisting it was because she was feeling particularly patriotic. I bet she, and even all her classmates, had no fucking clue about our nations history. I was willing to put money down that none of them knew that the ACTUAL day that the United States decided to declare their independence was actually on July 2nd, not July 4th. Hell, I bet half of them couldn't even tell you who wrote the Declaration of Independence.

The drunk kid hiccupped at me and swayed a little as he continued looking at me like he was waiting for some sort of acknowledgement or response. I simply nodded and lifted my bottle of Bud to my lips, which seemed to satisfy him because he stumbled off to find his next victim to annoy. I cradled my head in my free hand and sighed. Maybe I shouldn't have come home. Emmett had the right idea about staying away. He lived in San Francisco with his fiancé Rosalie, who was, in my humblest opinion, a complete and total bitch. I'd met her a whole of four times, and each time it appeared to me that nothing pleased the woman. Sure, she was gorgeous, and Emmett seemed to be completely insanely in love with her, but she was dreadful to be around. Maybe she gives good head…

Shuddering, I stood up slowly and walked towards the woods that edged out my family's property. I was miserable, and I needed an escape. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and I certainly didn't have a bad childhood! Quite the opposite! But my heart had been broken my junior year of high school, and it was all I could do to graduate and get the fuck out of this place. Everything reminded me of her. Tanya. My teeth gritted as I thought about her name and I nearly chucked my bottle against the nearest tree just to relieve the tension I was feeling. Instead, I downed the rest of its contents and tossed it towards the recycling bin at the side of the house. I heard the satisfactory clink of the bottle against other waste and I knew I was doing my part. Shaking my head at my silly thoughts, I turned back to my goal of getting the fuck away from the house.

Just as I got to the first row of trees, I heard a shuffle. I looked towards where the noise was coming from and I saw two shadows leaning against a large tree. It looked as if they were tickling each other, but I knew it was something much more sinister. My instincts took over and I stealthily stalked towards them.

"Mike! Get the fuck… off me!" a young woman's voice insisted, muffled but still strong enough for me to realize that she wasn't just playing hard to get.

"Mmm.. Come on, baby.. Let me just put it in.. It's Independence day!" I almost gagged. Using a national holiday for a plausible reason to rape an innocent woman is just sickening and should be punished by castration. Before I could do anything myself, I heard him cry out in pain and realized that the young woman had kneed him directly in the place that he cared for the most. I almost applauded. At this point, I was pretty sure she had the situation under control, so I decided to step back and go on about my business.

"You're a sick bastard and I hope you rot in hell!" she pushed at him and turned to walk away but she was pushed quickly to the ground, the goatfucker on top of her and trying to get himself undressed. She was screaming and kicking and it finally fueled me into action. I leaped like a mountain lion to where he was and grabbed the back of his shirt, lifting him away from his victim and slammed him up against the same tree where he had her pinned moments before.

"Wh.. What the fuck, dude?" the shitwad cried, his pants undone and drooping dangerously low on his hips. It was at this moment that I finally got a good look at him. It was the drunk fucker from earlier who had wished me a happy 4th! I heard a rustle in the leaves and out of my peripheral vision I saw the girl stand up at my side, but I didn't take my eyes off the scum.

As calmly as I could, still holding him by the throat, I said, "I want you to apologize to this young girl. And then I want you to go home and never set foot again on this property."

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, his voice shaking but still stubborn. He wiggled a little, trying to free himself from my grasp, but I just tightened my hold.

"I am Edward Cullen. This is my home. Now, apologize and go away," my voice still eerily calm, which I am pretty sure was just freaking him out even more.

"I ain't apologizing to her! She was just asking for it!" he yelled and spit in my face as he spoke.

I sighed softly and shook my head, "Wrong answer." I balled up my free and hand punched him hard in his gut, almost smiling when I saw that it knocked the wind out of him. He tried to lean forward, as if that would help, and I tutted my tongue. "I said apologize, or we will be here all night."

Dumbfuck gasped for air, shuddered and in a soft, unconvincing voice said, "Sorry, Bella." Unsatisfied with the apology, I growled low in my throat and he squeaked as I tightened my grasp. "Sorry! Sorry! I'm real sorry, Bella!"

"That's better.. Now," I paused, still not letting him go, I looked towards this Bella girl. She was staring at my wide-eyed and I gave her a kind smile. "Do you accept his apology, or should I continue on until you do?"

She opened her mouth to say something, but it was obviously she was rethinking it. Her lips were the perfect shape and I caught myself admiring them for too long because she spoke and I had to ask her to repeat what she had said.

"I said.. You're… not going to kill him.. Are you?"

I laughed in earnest and shook my head, "No. I won't kill him. However, I think a bit of humiliation is in order, don't you?" She quickly nodded, now completely on my side when she realized I wasn't a murderer. "Pull down his pants.. All the way off," she gave my a questioning look but then obeyed and he began to struggle. "Nuh uh.. Now, we don't want you to get hurt any more than I already hurt you, now do we?" I said, speaking to him as if he were an insolent child and he stopped moving, staring at me with terrified eyes.

Once he was disrobed, I instructed Bella to walk back to the bon-fire we had going in the backyard and burn his pants. He cried out softly, "Please.. Don't do it, Bella!" but she gave an evil smirk and walked directly to the fire, leaving him alone with me. I could feel him instantly begin to shake like a small dog during a thunderstorm.

"Well, Mike, I guess you won't be bugging Bella again, will you?" He shook his head no and I smiled. "Good. If I hear of you treating any girls like that ever again, I will see to it that you will never have another hard on, is that clear?" This time he nodded and I smiled bigger. "Then we have an understanding."

By this time, Bella was making her trip back, and a crowd of people, who obviously had seen her throw a pair of jeans into the fire, were following her close behind. This is exactly what I wanted. I cleared my throat and dragged a pants less Mike out into the open for everyone to see. "Now, I want you to walk home."

"My house is over twelve miles away!" he whined and I pushed at him, releasing my grip from him and he stumbled and fell over, still drunk, into the gravel on our driveway.

"Then I suggest you get a move on," I said simply and heard a roar of laughter and could see people pointing, laughing, and fishing out their cell phones to take pictures and videos of the event. By the reaction of the party attendants, Mike wasn't all that well liked of a guy, so I felt less like a dick that I may have if everyone had felt bad for him. Bella was at my side and smiling as proudly as one could in this situation. Mike climbed back to his feet and mumbled under his breath and started walking, pulling down his shirt as low as it would go to cover his ass.

I turned to Bella to finally make sure she was okay when I heard a loud sigh come from my other side. I closed my eyes and looked over my shoulder to see my younger sister, Alice standing there, her hand on her hip and a disapproving look on her face. "Yes?" I asked her as innocently as I could.

"What was that all about?"

"What was wha-," I began.

"Don't play innocent with me, Edward! Why was Mike pants less and why did you make him walk home?" she scolded, sounding more and more like our mother.

"I was teaching him a lesson. And I didn't want him driving after he had been drinking all night," I explained, not giving away too much detail until the crowd dissipated. I didn't want anyone talking badly about Bella, since she was innocent in the whole ordeal, and I know how small town gossip can get.

Alice simply rolled her eyes and then poked at my chest with her manicured nail, "This isn't over. We will discuss this later," she stopped, I'm sure thinking that she was frightening me with her threat, and looked around me. "Come on, Bella. You're totally missing out on all these great stories.. Where have you been anyway?" she questioned as she took Bella and walked back around the house to where the rest of the party was happening. And just like that, I didn't even get to introduce myself to her properly.

I sighed softly and walked back towards the woods, my initial destination before I decided to become a super hero.


End file.
